GRAND RAPIDS, MI – When Jeff Borchers decided it was time to move out of his mom’s house, he launched his quest for the perfect bachelor's pad throughout the Grand Rapids area.

He didn’t expect to end up five doors down from his mom’s house on Grand Rapids’ Northeast Side.

But the walkout ranch on Carlton Avenue NE was exactly what the 27-year-old was looking for and not finding anywhere else.

“I couldn’t find anything that suited the type of feel I wanted in my price range,” said Borchers, a former college basketball star who moved back home in 2010 after landing an engineering job at Pridgeon & Clay Inc.

Borchers estimates he went through 75 to 80 showings and open houses with the help of Bob Burchfield, his neighbor and a Realtor with Keller Williams Realty.

But the search ended when Burchfield put his own house up for sale and suggested Borchers take a look at it.

“It blew everything I had looked at out of the water,” said Borchers, who had grown weary of looking at faded decorating schemes, carpets that needed to be ripped out and outmoded kitchens and bathrooms.

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Though it was built in 1958, Burchfield and his wife had remodeled the brick ranch to give it a contemporary feel when they moved in 2003.

“My wife and I pride ourselves on updating and maintaining our homes,” said Burchfield, who was moving to Spring Lake.

The home also fit Borchers’ price range. He negotiated the sale for $147,500, down from the original asking price of $149,900.

For Borchers, the main feature that drew him to the house was its backyard, where Lamberton Creek flows through a densely wooded area.

The double picture window in the dining area offers a sweeping view of deer, wild turkeys, great blue herons and a barred owl that occasionally perches in a tree and stares at the house as it hunts small animals.

“I had driven by it literally hundreds of times, but I had no idea that the backyard had that kind of a dropoff,” Borchers said.

Adding to the natural setting is an elevated deck behind the house that is accessible from doors the Burchfields added in the dining area and from the master bedroom.

Elsewhere, the Burchfields had removed the old flooring in the front entry, kitchen and dining area and replaced it with laminated wood flooring.

The kitchen cabinets were repainted dark brown to complement the walls, which were painted a warm cinnamon color. Track lighting was added to the ceiling and a mid-kitchen island was re-shaped and updated with a stainless steel cooktop.

One of the biggest upgrades occurred in the main bathroom, where the Burchfields removed the pink and gray tile, replaced the tub and fixtures and added glass blocks.
The bathroom also got a new vanity with kitchen-height counter-tops -- a plus for Borchers, who stands 6 feet 10 inches tall.

As a real estate agent, Burchfield said he’s learned buyers want a home they can live in and enjoy immediately.

“I think what they’re looking for is something that gives you the ‘wow’ factor when you walk in and the further you go in, the more you like it.”

While the house was move-in ready for Borchers, he has been adding his own touches. He’s furnishing the house with a blend of contemporary furniture he’s bought at high-end stores, IKEA and on Craigslist.

But the big changes are happening downstairs, where Borcher is remodeling the basement recreation room to add a bar that will serve up his home-brewed beers.

He’s torn out old shelving and is building the bar cabinets in his two-stall garage. He’s also adapting a “keg-o-rater” that will keep his beers cool in the adjoining furnace and laundry room.

While he’s making the house his own, Borchers said living so close to his mom hasn’t been so bad. He did not have far to move and he still keeps some stuff at his mom’s house.

Meanwhile, his mom enjoys stopping by with friends to show off the gem her son found. “She tells her friends, ‘This is so insane for a first house,’” he said.

Mom is right, Borchers said. “If I ever do move, it’s going to be lot to live up to for House No. 2.”